Which Tire?

[Scooter]

Okay guys and gals, which of the following three tires should I install for back roads carving with some rain involved?

1) Bridgestone Potenza RE-11

2) Yokohama Advan Neova AD08

3) Dunlop Direzza Star Spec

[Tony V]

Mounted a set of the Dunlop Z1's and absolutely love them. AA rated for wet traction. Heat-up fast for some amazing grip. Use them for autox and couldn't be more pleased with their performance.
Tony

[Tidybuoy]

I have the Bridgestones RE 11's on my 944 and the handling is fantastic. However, I think they are a bit noisy when they start to wear.

[80-911SC]

I may get bashed for this but for the money Kuhmo tires have done me very well ...

I have the ecsta le sport on right now and they are a great tire ... 300 compound not to soft but not to hard warm up quick and hold as well as the high dollar tire ... rear are 255/17 and front 225/17 ran less than 700 mounted and balanced

[wildcat077]

I ran Dunlop Star Specs for the last two years including 15 track days this Summer and they are simply amazing.
Incredible in the rain,i'm getting another set next year only because i flat spotted one of the fronts ...
Best value for the money !!!

Cheers !
Phil

[McLaren-TAG]

If you're looking for wet traction as a criteria, do yourself a favor and consider the Continental ExtremeContact DW.

[Halm]

RE-11's without question. I used them as my DE tire on my SC and they were excellent. And this included 2 sessions in light to hard rain.

[supernovatx]

I had two years on kumos with very little wear, 2 of the 4 developed a buldge one of which was the size of an egg on the sidewall. I now run Bridgestone and am very happy...no more kumos for me

[canamfan]

Just my personal experiences , the Bridgestone RE 11's wore out so fast & flat spotted early & took way too long to heat up to get rid of the vibration, I'll probably never buy them again (never had any long treadware with Bridgestone anyway ) .BTW, they weren't even that good (in fact pretty terrible) when the temps dropped down alittle from 10 degrees celcius especially in the wet. Never tried the Yoko. Advan's, had the Dunlop Star Specs (very good although do not attempt to drive in colder temps., hard & slippery) otherwise really good. Currently have the Continental DWS (I went all season this time) and I'm extremely impressed with the wet traction at ALL temps, dry very good, cold...well...amazing! Just a tiny tad' soft in the side walls in hard cornering @ high speed (but not that bad), but for street, considering all the other great aspects to this particular tire ie. 540 treadware, very, very queit & smooth (I can hear my exhaust more clearly) Z rated & just fantastic wet traction in ALL temps, I'll keep these for a while. BTW, these experiences were all on 911's

[McLaren-TAG]

Originally Posted by canamfan

Just my personal experiences , the Bridgestone RE 11's wore out so fast & flat spotted early & took way too long to heat up to get rid of the vibration, I'll probably never buy them again (never had any long treadware with Bridgestone anyway ) .BTW, they weren't even that good (in fact pretty terrible) when the temps dropped down alittle from 10 degrees celcius especially in the wet. Never tried the Yoko. Advan's, had the Dunlop Star Specs (very good although do not attempt to drive in colder temps., hard & slippery) otherwise really good. Currently have the Continental DWS (I went all season this time) and I'm extremely impressed with the wet traction at ALL temps, dry very good, cold...well...amazing! Just a tiny tad' soft in the side walls in hard cornering @ high speed (but not that bad), but for street, considering all the other great aspects to this particular tire ie. 540 treadware, very, very queit & smooth (I can hear my exhaust more clearly) Z rated & just fantastic wet traction in ALL temps, I'll keep these for a while. BTW, these experiences were all on 911's

I have the DWS on my daily driver, an A4 Quattro and they're the best all around tire I've ever used. I'm glad they worked well on your 911, but I think my next set for the P car will be the DW. I have a set of Direzzas Sport Z1 that have a year or two easily left on them now and I'm very happy with them, but based on the performance of the DWS I wanted to try them.

Another benefit is the fact that they're 2 lbs lighter per tire, how's that for removing rotational weight where it matters most?

[mclmk8d]

Originally Posted by McLaren-TAG

If you're looking for wet traction as a criteria, do yourself a favor and consider the Continental ExtremeContact DW.

+1 on the Contis...have them on the rear of the Porsche and all 4 on the WRX...incredible hold in the rains we get here in South Florida

[combatic]

Scooter, I was asking the same question before I put Michelin Pilots on my 'other' car. Out of your list the Dunlop Direzza Star Specs came highly recommended with good wear characteristics from some local (Seattle) track rats. I would have tried those but I got a deal on the Michelins.

[DRACO A5OG]

I recently made a trip up north and took the back road to Angels Camp (near Stockton NorCal )using HWY 4 or 49? Wow gave Angeles Crest Hwy a run for it's money, very clean and new roads.

I have the Continetal DW Extremes and they grabbed extremely well around the corners to the dismay of my passenger

Also in the recent rains I noticed an Day and Night difference with my Goodyear Eagle F1 GS3 (nla), not once did it slip or slide.

You did mention some rain involvement, then I recommend this. Caveat they do have a rounder cross section so will appear to skinner or at least compared to my F1's.

Best part they are quiet as heck compared to the F1s. Great warranty to boot. I popped one soon after mounting one after hitting a crub, totally a bone head thing I did, America's Tire swapped it out immediately

Oh yeah, unlike the F1's when she sits no flat spots that you need to warm out.

[Porchcar guy]

I have had Kuhmo ecsta ASX on 3 vehicles..Camaro, Magnum and now my SC. treadwear at 420 and work very well with spirited driving but in New Mexico, there is not a lot of rain so can't tell you about that portiion. I love how quiet they are and they stick really well. Went up a 14 mile road to Sandia Crest, 4000 ft elevation change and all twisty bits...12 minutes

[Tidybuoy]

Originally Posted by DRACO A5OG

I recently made a trip up north and took the back road to Angel Camp using HWY 4 or 49? Wow gave Angeles Crest Hwy a run for it's money, very clean and new roads.

Hwy 49 is a blast. Our car club has taken many trips on this route from Oakhurst all the way down to the Merced River and back up. It's definitely a road that gets the adrenalin going

[djcdmv]

Full disclosure, my car rarely sees rain or cold temps. That said I put the StarSpecs on over a year ago and I love them. Very sticky, though I can understand what some say about cold temps.